What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? a-- Only the monstrous anger of the guns. bOnly the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle aCan patter out their hasty orisons. bNo mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; cNor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -- dThe shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; cAnd bugles calling for them from sad shires. dWhat candles may be held to speed them all? eNot in the hands of boys but in their eyes fShall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. fThe pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall; eTheir flowers the tenderness of patient minds, gAnd each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds g

The rhyme-scheme of the poem is unusual. At first, it looks as if it will have a typical "Shakespearean" rhyme-scheme (ababa cdcd efef gg). However, in the third quatrain (the third grouping of four lines), Owen does something unusual and unexpected, using the kind of quatrain typical of a Petrarchan sonnet (the first eight lines of which rhyme as follows (abba abba). Thus, the second sentence of the following Wikipedia article is incorrect (a good example of why Wikipedia can't always be trusted): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_for_Doomed_Youth

It is hybrid sonnet i.e a mixture between a petrachan sonnet and a shakesperian sonnet.

It has the structure (an octave then a sestet) of a petrarchan sonnet but the rhyme scheme and rythm of a shakesperian one (abab cdcd efef gg) except for lines 13 and 14. Anthem for Doomed Youth's rhyme scheme is (abab cdcd effe gg)